


golden boys

by almostannette



Series: Crimes of Grindelwald - Oneshots [7]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus shows Gellert around Hogwarts, First Kiss, M/M, Summer of 1899, Young Love, making plans for the future, slightly inspired by CMBYN
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 19:22:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16729242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/almostannette/pseuds/almostannette
Summary: What was it about Gellert Grindelwald that reduced Albus to a bumbling mess? Not one iota of his celebrated intellect and sharp wit was still there, all had fled his brain in the face of Gellert, basking in the sun with an easy smile on his face, as beautiful and carefree as a young Greek god.





	golden boys

Even though he was only eighteen years old, Albus Dumbledore had already corresponded with the brightest witches and wizards, hoping he’d find someone who was his intellectual match.

When he finally found him, Albus was surprised. Gellert Grindelwald was not a model student, like Albus himself, but a rebellious mischief-maker.

Albus should have listened more closely, should have put that great mind of his to use when Gellert had told him that he’d gotten expelled from Durmstrang for ‘experiments’. Albus should have remembered that Durmstrang had a much looser policy regarding dabbling in the Dark Arts than Hogwarts. And still, Gellert had managed to cross that line enough times to warrant being expelled.

At the time, however, nothing Gellert said or did was anything other than exhilarating to Albus. He even promised him to talk to Headmaster Black - maybe Gellert would be allowed to continue his education at Hogwarts.

* * *

“You know we’d have to hide,” Gellert said the day Albus had apparated the two of them up to Hogsmeade with the intention of giving his friend a tour of the castle and the grounds.

“Hide what?” Albus asked, pretending not to notice how his heart was beating twice as fast as usual. He was starting to feel uncomfortably hot, even though a gentle breeze was blowing as they were strolling along the lakeside. He cast a nonverbal cooling charm, hoping Gellert wouldn’t notice it.

“Well, if you’re going to be working as an assistant to the Transfiguration teacher, as you said you wanted to, then we’d need to hide the fact that we’re friends,” Gellert replied. “Or do you think it would reflect well on your reputation to have more than a casual acquaintance with a known troublemaker, such as myself?”

Albus’ heart skipped a beat. For a moment, he’d allowed himself to think that Gellert was talking about something more than friendship.

Gellert tilted his head and smirked. Did he know what Albus was thinking? No, that was impossible. Albus was a good enough Occlumens to keep Gellert out of his thoughts. Gellert’s smirk widened into a grin and he cocked his head to the side, in the direction of the lake. “I feel like going for a swim. Are you coming, too?”

“...what?” Albus said, mouth suddenly gone dry.

Gellert was already unbuttoning his vest. “Are you coming or not?”

Albus reflexively shook his head. “I’m not… I’m not much of a swimmer,” he stammered. Even without using Legilimency, Gellert would probably be able to guess his thoughts just by reading Albus’ treacherous body language. Never mind that he couldn’t imagine a more embarrassing situation than stripping down in front of Gellert, only to reveal the evidence of his attraction.

They hadn’t talked about it, yet, but Gellert had to be aware of the nature of Albus’ feelings for him. Sometimes, he thought Gellert was deliberately riling him up, dropping innuendos, or winking at Albus suggestively. Or taking off his clothes in front of him, ostensibly to swim in the Great Lake.

When Gellert started taking off his union suit as well, Albus was torn between averting his eyes and staring at him blatantly. Surely he wasn’t going to… “Did you bring a swimsuit?” he asked and could have slapped himself just a second afterward. What sort of stupid question was that?

Gellert shrugged. “I suppose I could technically transfigure my underwear into a swimsuit,” he said. “But since I’m not of age in _this_ country, it would be illegal to do magic outside school and I wouldn’t want to break the law, no?”

Swallowing against the lump in his throat, Albus waved his wand and a second later, Gellert was wearing a swimsuit.

Gellert rolled his eyes and started wading into the water, but not before sending a crooked smile into Albus’ direction. He looked like something Albus might see in one of those painfully sensual dreams, after which he always had to scourgify the sheets.

“Are you _sure_ you don't want to join me?” Gellert called. “The water feels amazing.”

“Isn't it too cold to go swimming?”

“You remember where I went to school? Compared to Durmstrang, this feels like a beach in Southern France.”

He continued to wade deeper into the lake unabashedly, and swam a few lanes up and down the shoreline, elegantly moving through the water. After about a quarter of an hour, Gellert swam towards the shore again. Either the water didn't feel as warm to him as he'd pretended, or he'd quickly gotten bored when Albus hadn't joined him.

“Conjure up a towel for me, will you?” Gellert called as he made his way to the shore.

Albus flicked his wand and levitated it towards Gellert.

He plucked it out of the air with a quick ‘Thank you’ and rubbed his hair dry. He had such gorgeous blond locks and Albus spent decidedly too many of his waking hours fantasizing about running his fingers through them. Gellert lay down on the ground, demonstratively stretching his arms over his head. Albus tried not to stare, but it was nearly impossible. Pale skin pulled taut over lean muscles, the odd mole here and there, sparse hair covering his legs and arms…

He shook his head. No, this wouldn’t do. He couldn’t be fantasizing about his neighbor’s nephew. What would Bathilda think of him? It used to be so easy, to ignore that part of him and just throw himself into his studies. It would have been so much easier if Gellert had been just a pretty boy - he would have grown bored with him relatively quickly, Albus thought, but Gellert was, unfortunately, so much more than that. He was _clever_. If Albus had an idea for a spell, Gellert immediately understood him and was quick to suggest ideas for improvement. If Albus wanted to adjust a potion recipe to limit its side effects, Gellert didn’t shrug it off with a blasé ‘Why bother?’, no, he immediately began scribbling down ideas.

Nothing Albus had learned at Hogwarts over the years could have prepared him for this addictive combination of brilliant intellect and boyish charm, for the perfect mess that was Gellert Grindelwald.

Why had they never met at any of the international talent competitions Albus had attended? Gellert had never been part of any Durmstrang delegation. They hadn’t liked his behavior, Gellert had admitted, he’d never been allowed to go.

Hogwarts wouldn’t have won so many of the competitions then, was the administration of Durmstrang aware of that fact? Gellert had shrugged it off. He preferred more unconventional ways of proving his intellect anyway, he’d said. Taking part in competitions, making an exceptional effort at school - what good was that in the end? Didn’t it constrain one’s intellectual and creative freedom?

So they argued about spells, about teaching methods, about the extent of magical education. What ought to be taught at school, what could be left out of the curriculum, what needed to be included? Albus had always thought that Divination was a load of rubbish. It was the only subject, besides History of Magic, which he hadn’t taken at NEWT level - and for what did he need two more years of History of Magic when he was friends with Bathilda Bagshot, anyway? Gellert, on the other hand, insisted that Divination could be very useful. “Of course, most people who claim to be Seers are nothing but charlatans,” he admitted. “The true Sight is a rare gift.”

Gellert left little doubt that he considered himself to be one of the very few people gifted with the genuine ability to See the future. Albus had yet to witness him have a genuine vision.

“You know,” Gellert said, basking in the sun with his eyes closed, “I think I could learn to like it here.”

“Really?”

“Yes. For a while, at least. Do you think if I did some exams, they’d let me skip sixth year? I’d like to just finish my NEWTs and graduate already.”

“I don’t know,” Albus said cautiously. “I wasn’t allowed to skip a year and we’re similarly talented.”

Gellert opened his eyes and turned on his side, observing Albus with his mismatched eyes. Other people found them disconcerting, but Albus thought they were just one of the many ways in which Gellert was special. “If you and Aunt Bathilda vouched for me, I’m sure you could convince the headmaster to make an exception.”

“I can try,” Albus offered. “Still, you should know that Headmaster Black is quite strict. You’re going to have to behave, at least for a while.”

Gellert threw his head back and laughed. “Stop worrying so much, Albus. Just arrange a meeting, so I can talk to him personally. You think I can’t be charming when I want to?”

Albus licked his lips. ‘I think you’re plenty charming now,’ he thought. “I mean it,” he said. “Just stay on the straight and narrow until you graduate.”

“‘Stay on the straight and narrow’,” Gellert echoed, raising his eyebrows. “With you around? That’s going to be difficult.”

“You’re not implying that I’m a bad influence, are you?” Albus countered. “If anything, I’d say it’s the other way around.”

Gellert shook his head, not quite managing to keep a smug smile from appearing on his features. “No, you’re not a bad influence. You, Albus Dumbledore, are a temptation.” With that, he leaned into Albus’ personal space, close enough so he could smell the drying lake water on Gellert’s skin and see a few stray water droplets, making their way all the way down the elegant slope of his jaw, down the line of his neck and the flat planes of his chest. The irrational impulse to lean in and kiss the droplets from Gellert’s skin rose up in Albus and he had to think of arithmancy equations to pull himself out of those ridiculous fantasies.

“Please, don’t,” Albus forced out.

Gellert shook his head, acting confused. “I’m not doing anything,” he said.

“You make me want to do things and I’m… I don’t…” Albus cursed himself for sputtering like a fool. What was it about Gellert Grindelwald that reduced him to a bumbling mess, not able to get out even a full sentence? Not one iota of his celebrated intellect and sharp wit was still there, all had fled his brain in the face of Gellert, basking in the sun with an easy smile on his face, as beautiful and carefree as a young Greek god.

“What do you want to do to me?” Gellert asked, leaning in even more. “What things?”

He was so close, Albus could discern the odd freckle on his otherwise smooth, pale skin, and count every single one of his eyelashes, glittering in the sunlight like pale gold. “You know what things,” he whispered and closed his eyes, not wanting to see understanding dawn on Gellert’s face, not wanting to watch his best friend’s beautiful features marred by horror and disgust.

Gellert didn’t reply, but suddenly, there was a hand on Albus’ cheek and a warm pair of lips covering his mouth. His brain short-circuited and he had to open his eyes, not knowing if he’d fallen asleep and was just having a very vivid dream, or if Gellert was playing a mean prank on him.

Reflexively, Albus pulled back just enough to look into Gellert’s eyes, waiting for Gellert to burst out in almost-manic laughter at Albus’ consternation. Gellert, however, just kept looking into Albus’ eyes with something that looked like longing.

Albus swallowed. “Why did you do that?” he asked and couldn’t prevent it from coming out scratchy, husky even.

The corners of Gellert’s mouth were quivering like he wanted to smile but wasn’t sure if the gesture would be appreciated.

With a start, Albus realized this was the first time he’d ever seen Gellert completely out of his depth, not hiding behind a smug grin and a nonchalant shrug.

“Why did you do that?” Albus repeated, resolving that if he had to stay here all day, he would get an answer out of Gellert. He wouldn’t let him laugh it off, make a joke and pretend that nothing had happened. Reaching out, he put his hands to Gellert’s cheek and let his fingers trail lower, over the Gellert’s neck and shoulder. “Why did you kiss me?” he whispered, watching in awe how his fingers left gooseflesh in their wake.

“Because I wanted to,” Gellert whispered. “I wanted to do that for such a long time, you have no idea.”

Something inside of Albus howled with delight at hearing Gellert’s words, preening at the knowledge that this beautiful and talented young wizard wanted to kiss Albus. Every academic achievement, every award he’d gotten over the years paled in the face of knowing that Gellert Grindelwald wanted him, Albus Dumbledore.

“I can imagine, actually.” Albus leaned forward, and their lips met again. This time, though, Albus was prepared and could properly appreciate it.

As far as love went, Albus was not inexperienced. He used the meetings with students of other wizarding schools to experiment and explore his sexuality. He’d never been with anyone from Durmstrang - for which he was grateful, now, he could imagine Gellert might be jealous if he found out. He’d fooled around with a few boys from Beauxbatons, Ilvermorny, and Uagadou and even exchanged letters with a few of them after the fact, but they all paled in comparison to Gellert Grindelwald.

He’d never felt like that with anyone. This was it, Albus thought, this was perfection.

Gellert broke the kiss this time. His pupils were dilated and he looked at Albus with an expression of surprise and wonder. “If you wanted this, too, why didn’t you say anything before?”

“I was afraid,” Albus whispered. “I thought… I didn’t know if you wanted me, too, or if my mind was playing tricks on me and every sign you gave me was just wishful thinking on my part.”

“It wasn’t wishful thinking,” Gellert replied with a desperate edge to his voice, cupping Albus’ cheek, running his thumb over his cheekbone. “Definitely not.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was slightly inspired by Call Me By Your Name. I felt like the whole story of how Albus and Gellert met sounds like such a summer romance?
> 
> If you liked this story, please feel free to leave a comment and/or kudos! I'd love to hear your thoughts!
> 
> You can also find me [@almost-annette](https://almost-annette.tumblr.com/)


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